Justice
What’s Behind New Delhi’s Gated Communities?
India’s capital city is full of private residential “colonies” protected by locked gates. But many claim the barriers don't stop crime and cause traffic chaos.
It’s past 3 a.m. and the party’s over. A group of late-night revelers walk to the main road outside a wealthy New Delhi neighborhood, known locally as a colony. They’re trying to get to the Uber they just booked, but they can’t. The gate blocking the road into the colony is now locked, and there’s nobody in sight to open it.
The group spots a small gap between the gate and the fence next to it. Fueled by some liquid courage, they squeeze between barbed wire and a row of menacing three-pronged iron spokes. It’s the only way out, and their Uber may cancel at any moment.